MILF rebels see peace pact by March

MORO SUBSTATE. Moro rebels raise their weapons during a drill on Nov. 16, 2006, in the jungles of Kinebaka in Datu Odin Sinsuat town in Maguindanao province. MILF leaders say self-determination is the only answer to the Moro question in Mindanao. JEOFFREY MAITEM/INQUIRER MINDANAO

ILIGAN CITY—The rebel group Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) said a peace agreement to end over four decades of rebellion in Mindanao could be reached by March this year if the autonomy formula the government will offer will respond to the Bangsamoro right to self-determination.

This declaration heightens the expectations of what would come out from Kuala Lumpur beginning Monday when the peace panels of government and the MILF convene for a three-day formal meeting.

Based on the parties’ joint statement last month, their recent meeting is geared at “the continuation of discussions on the substantive issues” of the peace negotiations with the view of “crafting a framework agreement.”

The government panel has set the first quarter of this year as its timetable for concluding negotiations for a political settlement with the MILF.

This is consistent with the timeframe of President Aquino to come to political terms with the country’s insurgencies, if possible by 2013.

Excited

“Surely, the MILF is as excited as the government in ending this negotiation in March this year. If the two parties can do it in such a short period, why not do it. It is good for everybody, including the international community,” read a statement posted in the rebel group’s official website.

The MILF said it would curiously look into the details of government’s autonomy formula for a future Bangsamoro self-governance entity.

“If the government is really truthful to what autonomy and right to self-determination (RSD) are all about, then the March timeline is very easy to achieve,” the MILF pointed out.

Under the Malaysian-facilitated peace negotiations since 2001, the MILF dropped its bid for independence and vie for an Islamic self-governance within the framework of the Philippine state.

Much of renewed optimism with the Mindanao peace process came through the parties’ Dec. 5-7, 2011, meeting.

For the first time, the rebel group revealed that during that meeting, “the two parties agreed in principle [on] some eleven points on various issues and concerns.”

A major consensus “is for the establishment of autonomy in the future Moro substate”

However, the MILF wants this autonomy to be “a range above” the present Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM), which it said is simply an “administrative region.”

The MILF further said that it wants to also see government’s 3-for-1 formula essentially shape into “territorial autonomy” and veer away from the failed formula of Moro integration.

Crucial year

The MILF considers 2012 a “crucial year in peace talks.” It views the government’s goal as “a bold step towards closing the final chapter of what otherwise is a long peace-making process in Mindanao.”

Peace negotiations with Moro rebels have been an on-and-off fashion. In 1976, the government inked the Tripoli Agreement of Peace with the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF), but it took 20 years for both parties to agree on a modality of implementation.

The 15-year peace process with the MILF, which began on Jan. 7, 1997, was also interrupted by the outbreak of three major wars.

The negotiations have now spanned through four presidencies.